Arizona State — Arizona Republic columnist Bob Young says Thursday night’s home game with second-ranked Oregon has similarities to 1996 upset of two-time defending champ Nebraska. Those Cornhuskers had won 26 in a row, including 37 in the regular season. Oregon has won three straight conference titles. Arizona State beat that Nebraska team, 19-0, with Scott Frost the Cornhuskers’ quarterback. Frost is now Oregon’s receivers coach. Quarterbacking that ASU team was Jake Plummer; quarterbacking this ASU team is Taylor Kelly, also an Idaho product.

Random observations after first weekend of the college football season:

** For the first time in Boulder, Jon Embree has no excuses. Granted his rebuilding campaign will take a long time after Dan Hawkins’ disastrous recruiting classes his last two years but Colorado State wasn’t exactly primed to get over the hump, either. The 22-17 loss was disastrous on so many levels. If Colorado can’t dominate the line of scrimmage against CSU, it will get humiliated in the Pac-12. I picked Colorado to go 3-9 and, frankly, struggled to come up with a third win. One of those three wins was CSU.

** I saw CSU’s spring scrimmage and its offensive line was absolutely helpless. It showed massive improvement against Colorado although first-year coach Jim McElwain said, “We had some real problems against their front 7.” If he lifts them to .500 this year and that on-campus stadium gets approved, Colorado and its waning facilities had better look out.

In 2011, the Mountain West had its own dedicated network to air football games. But even then, Colorado State’s eight games on The Mtn. were difficult to find. Some Colorado viewers got the channel as part of their cable packages and many didn’t.

As the MW shuffled its ranks, the network was scuttled in June, leaving teams like the Rams without a regular TV outlet.

But who needs a network anyway? The Rams on Monday announced they had reached a broadcast agreement with Denver’s KUSA that will land CSU on over-the-air KTVD Channel 20 for seven games this season. Channel 20 is the sister station of KUSA-9 and is included on Comcast, DirecTV and Dish standard packages.

Simply put, Tim Floyd is one of Larry Eustachy’s biggest fans. Floyd worked with Eustachy at Idaho, and now, as head coach at UTEP, has not wavered in his belief that his friend is one of the nation’s best coaches — period.

Here’s what he had to say about CSU’s hire of Eustachy:

“Larry has been at four universities that are extremely difficult to recruit to,” Floyd said. “I have no reason to believe that he won’t have the same success at Colorado State that he has had at the other universities, which will translate into either conference championships or NCAA Tournament appearances. Nobody’s guys will play harder or rebound better. Colorado State’s players will be excited when they get to know him.

“Larry was the first guy I hired when I became a head coach in 1986. He knows me better than anybody in our business and I believe that if he spent the last 15 years at a Kentucky or North Carolina, he would have won three national championships by now. He is that talented.”

Follow Chris Dempsey on Twitter @dempseypost or email him at cdempsey@denverpost.com

I’ve been following this conference since 1964, nearly a generation before it went from the Pac-8 to the Pac-10 and it has never been this awful. I have a story going in Thursday about the problem.

One NBA scout who demanded anonymity said of the Pac-12, “They ought to play all games at 5:45 because it is, in fact, the JV league.”

How about 5:45 in the morning? To wit:

* No Pac-12 team has been ranked in six weeks.

* No Pac-12 team is in the top 35 in the RPI.

* The Pac-12 is 0-12 versus ranked teams at the time they played.

* Pac-12 teams have lost to the likes of Loyola Marymount, Fairfield, Northern Arizona, Montana State, Idaho, Cal-Riverside and Cal Poly. All were topped by UCLA’s infamous flop job, a 86-66 drubbing at the hands of Middle Tennessee. At home.

“I’ve been around since the Pac-8,” the scout said, “and I’ve never remembered it this bad.”

FORT COLLINS – In a fun twist on a normally grueling football season, it’s been one big episode of “This is Your Life” for Colorado State coaches this year.

Defensive coordinator Larry Kerr faced his alma mater this season, when CSU played against San Jose State back on Oct. 1.

Now, it’s Larry Lewis’ turn.

Actually, this would be the second-straight week for Lewis. Lewis is CSU’s associate head coach, special teams coordinator and running backs coach. Lewis played at Boise State, so last week’s game against the Broncos was a bout against his alma mater as well.

New Mexico _ The train wreck that was the Mike Locksley era at New Mexico has pulled into the station for the final time.

Every press box wag (guilty as charged) around the Mountain
West Saturday was wondering if Locksley would be fired at halftime of the eventual OT loss to Sam Houston State.

Yet in a move that defined the 2-26 gridiron soap opera, it was revealed the next day that an under-aged driver with a .16 blood alcohol count was driving an SUV registered to Locksley on Saturday.

Get this: the driver claimed to be a recruit.

Another occupant in the car was arrested for being belligerent to the police. She claimed to be the girlfriend of Locksley’s son who is on the Lobos’ roster.

The university denied the driver was a recruit.

This tops off a wilfe ride with two wins (against CSU and Wyoming), a sexual harassment/age discrimination suit; a 10-day suspension for punching an assistant, and numerous garden variety player arrests.

The Mtn. was scheduled to carry the carnage of a press conference.

One positive note for the Lobos: The only non-Colorado State player to earn MW player of the week honors was freshman wide receiver Deon Long who shared offensive award with Ram Chris Nwoke. Long broke ex-Ram Gartrell Johnson’s MW record 378 all-purpose yards.

San Diego State _ Aztecs players were spared from talking to the media after the 28-7 loss to Michigan and former coach Brady Hoke. “They were very emotional after the game, depressed, disappointed, upset, however you want to say,” said SDSU coach Rocky Long, “It was a very emotional locker room after the game and not in a good sense.”

UNLV _ The UNLV-Nevada Battle for the Fremont Cannon will be televised an obscure local cable channel for UNLV fans. There might not be many fans left after Rebels lost to FCS upstart Southern Utah.

TCU _ The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports what while Horned Frogs fans might be divided between the scheduled leap to the Big East and a potential long-awaited Big 12 invite, Frogs coach Gary Patterson isn’t changing his tune. “You better be loyal to the Big East,” he said. “And before that, be loyal to the Mountain West.”
So much for Mountain West
loyalty.

Wyoming _ The biggest crowd in Wyoming history is expected for the 5:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday with No. 9 Nebraska so the Wyoming athletic department is urging fans to arrive early.

It’s impossible to get there too early. The parking lots and will call windows will open at 8 a.m. With a turnout of red expected by Nebraskans, Cowboys fans are urged to wear gold.

New Mexico _ Deon Long, one of the few bright spots for the winless Lobos, has been added to the Biletnikoff watch list for the nation’s top wide receiver. The transfer from West Virginia is second in the MW with 88.3 yards a game.

San Diego State _ Rocky Long didn’t know where he would find any receivers going into the year. Colin Lockett, a sophomore who wasn’t listed on the pre-season two-deep, was added to the Biletnikoff watch list Friday. He is third in the MW with 84.7 yards a game.

TCU _ Now that Dan Beebe is out as Big 12 commissioner, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports there may be new interest by the league in the Horned Frogs. Beebe had said he was only interested in new TV markets. TCU’s Big East, destination, meanwhile is most uncertain.

The Fort Worth school has only tried to get into the Big 12 since the Southwest Conference dissolved in the mid 1990’s.

UNLV _ Daniel Harper, one of those fifth-year transfers who already has his degree from another school, is starting to make an impact at safety for the Rebels. He graduated from USC and wasn’t a big Lane Kiffin fan.

“I wished (Kiffin) all the best, but I’m a grown man now, I’m a college graduate, and sometimes you have to make adult decisions, and this is one of them,” Harper told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Washington State (2-1) has a bye week and coach Paul Wulff said injured quarterback Jeff Tuel will begin throwing today. Tuel broke his collarbone in the opener against Idaho State, but it’s doubtful he’ll be ready for the Cougars’ game at Colorado Oct. 1.

“He’s healing to this point,” Wulff said on Tuesday’s Pac-12 Conference call. “He will be allowed to throw in practice today.”

Not that he’s been missed. Fifth-year senior and long-time backup Martin Lobbestael is seventh in the nation and first in the Pac-12 in pass efficiency (180.17) as he has hit 58-of-93 for 959 yards with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions.

It will be a week of chatter about former San Diego State coach Brady Hoke hosting his former team. His hand-picked successor, Rocky Long, said “They know our personnel a lot better than we know their personnel, so I think there’s a huge advantage,” Long told the San Diego Union Tribune.

Hoke took, among others, ex-offensive coordinator Al Borges and former Colorado State assistant and offensive line coach Darrell Funk.

In other Axtecs news, running back Ronnie Hillman shared Mountain West offensive player of the week honors with Boise State’s Kellen Moore. The two combined for nine TDs.

Suffice to say, it will be an interesting race for player of the year.

UNLV — After an 0-7 road effort a year ago, UNLV is the first Mountain West team to get the 2011 season underway tonight at No. 10 Wisconsin (6 p.m.MT, ESPN).

“We’re playing two BCS conference teams on the road (at the beginning),” second-year coach Bobby Hauck told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It sure would be nice to get off to a good start, but that’s a pretty tall order for a team that has not played well on the road.”

The Rebels travel next week to Washington State. Although Wisconsin fans boost for the local Las Vegas coffers, UNLV’S future schedules with be ramped down with the likes of Utah State and Louisiana Tech.

California: Jeff Tedford had his first losing season last year and not much is expected this year from Colorado’s first home opponent Sept. 10. He went 5-7 a year ago and Golden Bears must play all their home games across the bay at AT&T Park while Memorial Stadium gets renovated.

He said he doesn’t think about the pressure and athletic director Sandy Barbour said his security is “rock solid.” But Cal isn’t selling many tickets and it wants some momentum going into the new-look stadium in 2012.

It’s not an easy schedule, starting with Saturday against Fresno State. Colorado will be looking to avenge last year’s 52-7 humiliation in Berkeley and Tedford is breaking in a new quarterback and tailback.

Boise State — The firing of Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier, father of the blue carpet, is going to get messier and messier. Now Boise State president Bob Kustra told the Idaho Statesman that Bleymaier had the option of resigning. Bleymaier said “Fire me.”

SEATTLE — I’m here talking to the guy who raised Washington football from the dead, Steve Sarkisian, and saw The Seattle Times reporting that Denver will likely get another league partner in Seattle University.

The Englewood-based WAC (I still find it odd that it’s located in suburban Denver with no Colorado members) has its board of directions meetings Monday and Tuesday in Park City, Utah. The invite will likely come Tuesday.

Seattle’s membership would begin in the 2012-13 academic year and bring WAC membership to nine. If you’re not keeping score at home, here’s the thumbnail on WAC membership: It lost Boise State after last season and will lose Fresno State and Nevada after the 2011-12 season, all to the Mountain West.

Season openers are always interesting in any sport, and especially when a new coach is in command.

That’s the case tonight for the Colorado basketball teams when men’s coach Tad Boyle and women’s coach Linda Lappe make their debuts on the CU bench in the Coors Events Center.

It’s a FSN-televised double-header, with the CU women opening against Regis at 5:30 and the men’s the men going against Idaho State.

Freshmen Shae Kelley (6-1, Denver East) and Brittany Wilson (5-8, Long Beach Poly, Calif.) figure to make immediate impacts on the women’s team. Initially, they are expected to come off the bench for Lappe.

The men’s lineup, however, resembles that of last season with an expected starting lineup of guards Cory Higgins (6-5), Alec Burks (6-6) and Nate Tomlinson (6-3), wing Marcus Relphorde (6-7) and forward Austin Dufault (6-9).

Center Shane Harris-Tunks (6-10) was a sure-fire starter before a torn ACL in preseason ended his year before it began. It’s a big loss, because Harris-Tunks added 25 pounds in the offseason and was the best defender, rebounder and passer among the big men on the roster.

In fact, Boyle has said that Harris-Tunks, a sophomore, might have been the third-most important player to the team, behind Higgins and Burks, the latter a future NBA first-round draft choice.

The good news is, Harris-Tunks will redshirt and still have three years of eligibility remaining. Also, the injury happened relatively early in preseason camp, which gave Boyle time to make adjustments to his lineup and strategy. I suspect there will still be some ragged edges to smooth out.

Some CU fans will be surprised to see the junior Tomlinson starting at point guard ahead of touted redshirt freshman Shannon Sharpe. That shows how much coaches value experience.

BOULDER – Being consumed with covering football, it’s been difficult for me to get over to a CU men’s basketball practice. But I finally made it over to the Coors Events Center and watched first-year Buffs coach Tad Boyle’s early morning workout.

What an eye-opener.

First, if Colorado isn’t among the best conditioned teams in the Big 12, I’ll be surprised. Players were given the necessary water breaks, but there was absolutely no standing around. Practice entailed nonstop action – most of it full-court, in an up-and-down, fast-break tempo.

Also interesting was seeing Boyle conduct what I call “mini” scrimmages. It wasn’t just five-on-five, shirts vs. skins. It looked like a game situation in that Boyle would huddle up with one side and plot strategy, while an assistant coach, Jean Prioleau or Mike Rohn, would take the other side. I’m not sure I’d ever seen that just a dozen days into preseason practices.

BOULDER – “Emergency” quarterbacks for Colorado during the remainder of the season could include receives Kyle Cefalo and Scotty McKnight, CU offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau said Tuesday after practice.

With Tyler Hansen (speen) out for at least the remainder of the season, true freshman Nick Hirschman is second string on the depth chart behind Cody Hawkins.

But coaches hope to preserve Hirschman’s redshirt year and likely won’t use him if, say, Cody Hawkins gets temporarily shaken up and needs to sit out a play.

Cefalo, a junior, played quarterback at Bishop Kelly High School in Boise, Idaho, where he succeeded Cody Hawkins at that position. McKnight played only wide receiver at Coto de Caza High School in Orange Country, Calif. But McKnight understands the system. In any case, an emergency situation, the substitute QB might be asked only to hand the ball off.

Another possibility would be walk-on freshman quarterback Justin Gorman, a 6-foot, 200-pounder from Manheim, Pa. Gorman will make the trip to Oklahoma, CU coach Dan Hawkins said during his weekly media luncheon.

Kiesau was asked about a scenario in which the emergency quarterback would play instead of Hirschman.

“It’s all going to be situational, about how the season is going and the situation in the game,” Kiesau said. “If we are at Nebraska (in the regular-season finale) and we’re up by 27 points and Cody goes down, do you play Hirschman?”

Freshman cornerback Josh Moten earned all-league honors as a quarterback at Narbonne High in Carson, Calif. But Moten is not a candidate for the emergency QB role, Kiesau said. Moten is redshirting this season and also, as a defensive player, does not know the CU offense.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.